Book/Product review policies
In addition to news, robots.net publishes reviews of books, software, and hardware that will be of interest to our readers. Because robots.net is read by thousands of educators, researchers, hobbiests, and robot hackers each day, a review can be a valuable form of publicity for your book or product. We also offer a variety of advertising opportunities.
You are welcome to submit your book or product for review but please understand the following policies:
- We review robot-related books. Primarily non-fiction books. While we enjoy reading science fiction, there are better forums for that type of review. We prefer to stick with books that are of interest to robot builders and software developers when writing reviews. But if your book, whatever genre, is unusual in some way that you think makes it's of interest to our audience, we'll consider it.
- We review robot documentary films and videos. Occasionally we might review a science-fiction movie if it seems of particular interest to the robotics community. The preferred media format is an NTSC or PAL DVD.
- We review robots, robot kits, microcontrollers, sensors and other robot-related hardware. Sometimes we even review robot toys if they're cool enough to catch our interst. If you've got hardware of any kind that a robot builder might be interested in it, we'll probably review it.
- We review robot-related software. However, before submitting a software product for review, please be aware that it is the position of robots.net that software should be free. Note that "free" in this context means libre, not gratis (or to use the more common analogy, we mean "free as in free speech", not "free as in free beer"). This does not mean you have to give your software away at no charge. We will happily review commercial software provided it is offered under a license which does not restrict the freedoms of its users. We prefer not to promote the use of proprietary software. If your software ships under an approved Open Source license or meets the definition of Free Software, there's a good chance we'll review it.
- Not all books or products submitted will be reviewed. Whether or not your item will be reviewed depends on a number of factors including the availablility of a reviewer and our judgement of the interest to our readers. Feel free to contact us before sending us anything if you'd like to determine the possibility of a review.
- Items submitted for review cannot be returned. After each book or product is reviewed it is donated to the Dallas Personal Robotics Group where it will be made available to group members and used to further projects of this non-profit 501(c)3 group. (donated items are announced and demonstrated in the monthly meetings of the group, so this could be considered to have its own promotional value).
- There's an exception to every rule. If you have something you'd really like us to review but you don't think it meets one or more of these guidelines, go ahead and ask. If we agree that it's worth reviewing we may make an exception to our usual policies for you.
So, if reading all the rules hasn't scared you off - how do you get your books or products to us? You can ship them to this postal address:
Attn: Robots.net Review Editor
Network Cybernetics Corporation
3720 Canton Street, Suite 202
Dallas, TX 75226
If you are a publisher, feel free to add this address to your list for promotional mailings of new books provided they are related to the topics of robots, robotics, cybernetics, artificial intelligence, neural networks, cognition, genetic algorithms, sensors, AUVs, UAVs, image recognition, or other topics related to advanced machine technologies.
Want to see a few sample reviews? No problem: